Benefits for Private Label Members

Private Labelers who purchase handcrafted soap or cosmetics from one or more sources and then resell it under their
own private label are the newest addition to the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild family.

The HSCG works for private labelers in several ways - first by supporting and protecting the handcrafted
soap and cosmetic industry as a whole through education, legislative advocacy, insurance and more; second, by providing
direct member benefits to private labelers that are geared toward assisting them in the business; and
third, through the active promotion of partnerships between Private Label Members and Soapmaker Members
for the formation mutually beneficial business arrangements.

A Private Label Membership is the in the name of the business and has an individual person connected to the membership as the
owner. In addition, a "contact person" can be designated by the owner. If assigned, the contact person gets email and
enews updates from HSCG instead of the owner. Both the owner and the contact person have unique log-ins to the HSCG Member Area.

For Your Business

Professional Handcrafter membership in the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild, Inc. automatically includes $1 million product and general liability insurance as part of the membership benefit. The amount of insurance may be optionally increased to $2M. Property and/or professional liability coverage may also be added to the policy. The insurance is effective immediately upon receipt of dues and processing of the membership. See the Canadian Insurance FAQ for more details.

Private Label Members: Special group rates for product and general liability insurance have been negotiated for Private Label Members. The insurance is optional, and must be purchased directly from Veracity Insurance Solutions after the membership has been purchased; Private Label insurance is not included as part of the membership dues.

International Members: The member benefit insurance is only available for soap and cosmetic handcrafters within the United States and Canada; for handcrafters from other countries the insurance is excluded from the membership and the membership price adjusted accordingly.

Existing Insurance Coverage: For handcrafters who already have product liability insurance, the insurance portion of the membership may be waived and the membership price adjusted accordingly.

Free webstore [Professional, Vendor and Private Label Members]

The HSCG has for a free starter webstore for members who need to get started with an eCommerce solution.

The stores are hosted by Volusion, and offer everything you need to set up your initial on-line eCommerce presence. Enter products, take orders and get paid (cart integrates with PayPal). When the time comes to go to the next level, your store can be converted to a full Volusion store (with the HSCG discount) without the need to re-enter your information.

The HSCG has teamed up with Volusion Online Stores to bring a high-quality eCommerce option to all HSCG members. Volusion is offering a special deal for HSCG members including 25% off monthly hosting, 20% discount on SSL certificate and much more.

Through ProPay, Inc. HSCG members located in the United States can sign up for merchant services at a remarkably low rate. ProPal provides merchant services allows you to take payments in-person, online, offline or over the phone and provides buttons that can easily integrated onto your website. You also get a FREE ProPay JAK™ to use to swipe cards directly on your phone. [NOTE: US Members only.]

UPS Discount [Professional, Vendor and Private Label Members]

HSCG has partnered with UPS to offer members discounts on shipping services through UPS. Members can get up to 32% off shipping! Even if you already have a UPS account, you can still participate in the program. [NOTE: US Members only.]

Discounts at Office Depot and more [All Members]

The HSCG has partnered with Windfall, the group-buying experts, to provide a Business Savings Program that includes discounts at Office Depot which can give you significant savings on products you use every day including up to 80% off on 300 most-preferred products, 3,000+ products at 15% off retail web pricing and 93,000 additional products discounted below retail. Free, next-day delivery on orders of $50 or more.

10% discount on SoapMaker Software [All Members]

HSCG members receive a 10% discount on any version of SoapMaker Software. The Software, available for Microsoft Windows (7, Vista, XP or 2000), allows you to calculate lye and water for recipes using over 50 types of base oils, calculate costs per batch and bar using your ingredient costs, stores your recipes and organizes them by category, type, date and cost, provides inventory control and more.

Promotion and Marketing

Special Promotional Opportunities [All Members]

From time-to-time the HSCG is able to offers special opportunities to the membership. In the past these have included donations to goodie bags handed out at a large natural products expo and free space in an HSCG booth at wholesale trade shows. Note: These promotional opportunities may be limited to specific memberships, depending on their applicability.

Increased Professionalism

Use of the Member Logo [Professional, Vendor and Private Label Members]

Qualified HSCG Members may used HSCG Member Badge on print, packaging and/or web materials to promote the fact they are a member of the HSCG, thereby increasing customer confidence.

Use of the Why Handcrafted Soap? brochure [Professional, Vendor and Private Label Members]

The HSCG has developed and printed a high-quality brochure, Why Handcrafted Soap Cosmetics which explains the benefits of handcrafted soap and contains beautiful pictures. It is available to members for download for free or to purchase at a very nominal fee (about at cost). There is a space to add contact information and personalize the brochure.

On-Going Education

Annual Conference Registration Discount [All Members]

Every year the HSCG has an Annual Conference. It is 3 days, filled with classes and presentations on a wide array of topics pertinent to soapmaking (including actual soapmaking demonstration and how-to sessions). Conference attendance is open to both members and non-members. Members receive a discount on the registration fee for themselves and up to three additional business associates.

Vendor Tier 1 Members receive FREE conference registration for two of their staff to attend the conference (non-transferable).

Advanced Lye Calculator [All Members]

The Basic HSCG Lye Calculator is available for members and non-members in the "Resources for Soapmakers" section of the website. Within the "Members Only" section, an advanced lye calculator is available which allows the soapmaker to set more detailed information about his/her recipe and the specific oils used.

Community

eNews [All Members]

eNews issues are sent by email to members to keep them up-to-date on news and activities of the HSCG, including legislation and other matters of interest.

Monthly Vendor Specials eNews [All Members]

The Vendor Specials eNews is sent out monthly and contains the current month's specials submitted by HSCG Vendor members.

Referral Program [All Members]

Members receive credits (called "Golden Bubbles") when they refer other soap and cosmetic handcrafters or vendors to join the HSCG. Golden Bubbles may be used toward membership dues, conference registration, advertising or HSCG merchandise.

Directing the Organization

Right to Vote [All Members]

The HSCG Annual Membership Meeting is held during the Annual Conference every year. All members may attend (whether or not they are attending the conference) and any member present at the Annual Meeting has the right to vote on issues presented at the meeting. All members have the right to vote in ballots sent by mail. For all votes, each Vendor Membership may cast only one vote, which must be by the designated owner or representative.

Right to Serve on a Committee [All Members]

All members have the right to volunteer and to serve on a Committee if they so choose.

Right to Nominate Candidates [All Members]

All members have the right to nominate candidates for the offices of President and Board of Directors Member.